GUILTY AL - Natalie, 5, & Jonathan DeBlase, 3, beaten, poisoned, Mobile, 1 March 2010

[georgiajean]

RIP Natalie. It's been a year since you left... March 4, 2010

Haven't seen this article posted yet.
http://www.wkrg.com/alabama/article...with-anti-freeze/1204739/Feb-14-2011_7-35-pm/

Circuit Judge Rick Stout determined there is probable cause to send the capital murder case against Keaton to a Grand Jury.

And what about JD? What's he going to get?

ETA Oh, here it is. felony murder.

Keaton’s lawyer attempted to call John Deblase to testify. Deblase was brought into the courtroom. In response to his lawyer's advice, Deblase declined to testify by taking the Fifth Amendment. Deblase is charged with felony murder in the children's deaths.

http://www.fox10tv.com/dpp/news/crime/heather-keaton-in-court-for-preliminary-hearing

 

[revampz]

Oh my god!!!!! I had not seen this case and have just skimmed through it. wow, this is the worst case of child torture I have heard of (and I have read a child called it)...sorry guys I now have to go and watch a comedy on tv or listen to some nice music as this one has really affected me. They poisoned them with antifreeze after trying it on the dog!!!! UUUUUgggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. Any lawyer who defends these scumbags are scum themselves!!! and I really really really really hope that all the mothers in jail are dishing up torture to this evil biatch in jail. sorry going now.

 

[georgiajean]

Found this video on youtube, chronicling the story of the children. It is very accurate, up-to-date, and contains so many pictures...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MzBaTJBb6w

 

[daisy7]

MOBILE, Ala.(WALA) - The Alabama House of Representatives has passed a bill that would give grandparents visitation rights to see their grandchildren.

The measure was sponsored by Rep. Harry Shiver of Bay Minette, and it's now on its way to the Senate for a vote.

Richard Deblase of Mobile supports the legislation, nicknamed the "Grandparent's Bill". For him the issue is personal.

(snip)

http://www.fox10tv.com/dpp/onpolitix/alabama_onpolitix/grandparents-bill-passes-ala-house?1

 

[georgiajean]

The court strikes down the grandparent visitation rights bill.

http://blog.al.com/press-register-commentary/2011/06/grandparents_visitation_might.html

The Alabama Supreme Court has struck down the grandparents bill. The nine justices issued a 7-2 decision Friday stating that the Grandparents Visitation Act unconstitutionally violates the rights of parents.

 

[georgiajean]

http://www.wkrg.com/alabama/article...for-local-family/1208029/Jul-06-2011_5-47-pm/

Mobile County Assistant District Attorney Jo Beth Murphree insists she is confidence in their case despite having mostly circumstantial evidence.
"What happened in Orlando has absolutely no bearing whatsoever on our level of confidence in this case," said Murphree. "Circumstantial evidence cases can be absolutely just as good as direct evidence cases," she said.

John DeBlase and Heather Keaton are both in jail waiting for their case to go before a Grand Jury. Natalie and Chase were buried last month after their bodies were finally released from the medical examiner, according to Richard DeBlase.

 

[georgiajean]

John Deblase pleads not guilty to two counts of capital murder.
http://www.fox10tv.com/dpp/news/local_news/mobile_county/deblase-pleads-not-guilty

DeBlase's attorney said he is not guilty by reason of insanity.

"He's very concerned and worried - heartbroken that his children are dead," said defense attorney Jim Sears.

DeBlase's common law wife, Heather Keaton, also charged with two counts of capital murder in this case, also entered an insanity plea.

Mobile County District Attorney Ashley Rich doesn't buy the argument.

"We have no reason to believe that they were insane at the time they committed this offense - or now," said Rich.

Rich plans to seek the death penalty. DeBlase's father, Richard said his family has suffered three loses, losing Natalie, Chase, now his son John.

 

[georgiajean]

http://media2.fox10tv.com/news_documents/richard-deblase-statement.pdf

Statement that he (Rich DeBlase) and his wife Ann will be in court every day that JD and HK are in court. It's a PDF file, so I can't copy a quote.

 

[georgiajean]

http://www.local15tv.com/news/local...aton-in-Childrens/qc8T1wv-Mk2RrLJdQ2-j-g.cspx

New evidence raised JD's charges from Felony Murder to Capital Murder:

Extreme allegations she says are supported by new evidence against the children's father John Deblase. The charges come as an upgrade to his original charge of felony murder. If convicted, he could face death. Keaton was already facing capital murder.

"Based on the evidence presented to the grand jury we believe that this is a death penalty case," Rich said.

 

[georgiajean]

http://blog.al.com/live/2011/09/woman_accused_in_killings_of_d.html

A woman accused of abusing and poisoning 2 children in Mobile will be moved to a state mental health facility tomorrow for determination of whether she can stand trial on capital murder charges, according to prosecutors.

A state psychologist evaluated Leavell-Keaton to investigate whether she is competent to stand trial and whether she was competent at the time of the alleged slayings.

Mobile County District Attorney Ashley Rich said that the psychologist could not immediately make a decision, and he recommended further observation.

 

[georgiajean]

This is a good source that has collected all their articles about the DeBlase murders in one place. Nothing new, but a good site to watch for updates as this case progresses.
http://www.al.com/news/deblase/

One new bit: the prosecution presented their new evidence to the grand jury, which resulted in the increased charges for JD, but they are not releasing that info to the public (which is standard procedure, right?).

I am glad this case is moving forward, and that Natalie and Chase are not forgotten.

 

[Knitty]

http://blog.al.com/live/2011/11/father_stepmother_of_slain_deb_1.html

MOBILE, Alabama -- A couple accused of abusing and poisoning two young children have been found competent by state psychologists to stand trial on capital murder charges, according to the Mobile County District Attorney’s Office.

 

[georgiajean]

Thanksgiving, 2011, would have been Natalie's 6th birthday. Family remembered her and mourned her death:
http://www.local15tv.com/mostpopula...y-Mourns-Death-of/oVXTjvXAHkCY0YgUWZiFbw.cspx


In another article, the grandfather talked about the two children:

"She was his mentor. Wherever Natalie went, she had a tag a long. You can guarantee he was right behind her," said Richard Deblase. "Chase never talked, and people would say, 'What is wrong with him?' Nothing. He's got a sister that answers every question for him. That's what it was."

Richard Deblase talks fondly of his grandchildren. Natalie was born on Thanksgiving Day in 2005, weighing less than two pounds. Thursday she would have celebrated her sixth birthday. Her grandparents said she would have started kindergarten this year. "We were looking forward to her going to school to see how well she could read and write and do things. She was very intelligent," said Richard Deblase. Chase would have turned five next month and started pre-kindergarten.

http://www.fox10tv.com/dpp/news/local_news/mobile_county/natalie-deblases-birthday-remebrance

 

[bellesmomm]

This has been such a horrible case for us to watch unfold here in Mobile. CRAZY OR NOT (and you can look at these two I mean no one in their right mind does this to such precious babies) They need to do the same thing to these two fools.

THE TORTURE they put those babies through.

So many here in Mobile are just modified by this. So sad.

 

[OkieGranny]

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nat...d-poisoning-kids-antifreeze-article-1.1971912

An Alabama father accused of torturing and poisoning his two children with antifreeze before dumping their bodies in trash bags four years ago is finally going to trial.

The capital murder trial for John DeBlase, 30, is set to begin in Mobile Tuesday in the sickening deaths of his two children, Natalie, 5, and Chase, 3, in 2010...

Leavell-Keaton — whose trial is scheduled to begin on March 25 — has been accused of being jealous of the little girl and of torturing both children before teaming up with DeBlase to kill them for a life free of responsibilities.

 

[OkieGranny]

http://www.al.com/news/mobile/index.ssf/2014/10/more_video_confession_expected.html

The second day of the John DeBlase capital murder trial will feature the continued testimony of former Mobile police detective Donald Boykin, who investigated the deaths of Natalie and Chase DeBlase in 2010...

And on Wednesday, jurors saw the first part of a taped interview with the 31-year-old father. In it, when confronted with the question of where his children were, DeBlase first said they were kidnapped by men in ski masks who assaulted him and Keaton.

But after Boykin challenges him on that story - and tells him Keaton has already fingered him for killing the 3- and 4-year-old kids - DeBlase changes his story and implicates his former lover.

 

[OkieGranny]

http://www.wkrg.com/story/26873375/john-deblase-trial-continues-with-full-day-of-testimony

Today we're hearing more from Deblase's taped interview with Santa Rosa County, Florida Deputies. He was picked up in Florida after his kids were reported missing on December 3, 2010. In the interview Deblase claimed he buried his kids but couldn't remember where they were.

A majority of today's testimony picks up with Deblase's interviews with Mobile Police Detectives. It's an interview that starts in Santa Rosa County Florida. There Deblase says he truly loved Heather Keaton even though she was responsible for killing his two young children. Mobile Police Detective Donald Boykin then takes Deblase to the areas in Citronelle and Mississippi he vaguely remembers ditching the kids' bodies.

From there Deblase is interviewed at the Mobile Police station. We begin to hear Deblase describe the children's deaths in his own words.

 

[OkieGranny]

http://www.al.com/news/mobile/index.ssf/2014/10/deblase_trail_co-defendant_cen.html

During day three of the John DeBlase capital murder trial, focus tilted away from the father whose two young children were killed and dumped in the woods four years ago and toward his co-defendant Heather Leavell-Keaton. For the first time during the trial, Keaton's own words could be heard during interview tapes made in November 2010...

At one point during the interview, despite wanting to file a protective order against DeBlase, Keaton looked at her cell phone and said, "I can't believe he hasn't called me." During cross-examination, the sergeant told defense attorney Art Powell that Keaton's statement was curious, considering her fear of DeBlase. He also said he felt the co-defendant, who stated she can only see "about four feet," was "exaggerating her blindness when it suited her."

The conversation left him with "a lot of questions that needed to be answered," Thompson said. "I believe she was being dishonest during parts of the interview."

 

[OkieGranny]

http://www.al.com/news/mobile/index.ssf/2014/10/in_letters_deblase_said_he_cho.html

In a series of jailhouse letters, accused murderer John DeBlase said the deaths of his two children were mercy killings meant to end their suffering.

His common-law wife and co-defendant, Heather Leavell-Keaton, was raining "tortures and abuse" on young Natalie and Chase DeBlase, so he choked the life out of them, he wrote...

When asked why he didn't just give the kids to their biological mother, or other family members, DeBlase wrote, "They want to use my children as means to get money." And he said his ex-wife and father would "just treat them like easy paycheck, instead of kids."

 

[Soulmagent]

http://www.al.com/news/mobile/index.ssf/2014/10/in_letters_deblase_said_he_cho.html

He blames the girlfriend,then he blames the Kids ,he blames the grandparents and the mom.

I will not feel an once of remorse if GA decides to let him fry , which I really hope they do.